Rio de Janeiro is almost impossibly marvellous, with its curving white beaches and city neighbourhoods studded with green-shrouded mountains, all facing the blue depths of the Atlantic Ocean.

BBC: Living in: Rio de Janeiro

From big-city Montreal to the Atlantic-facing Nova Scotia capital of Halifax, the 1, 346km Ocean service is an almost 24-hour trip.

BBC: Majestic Canada, coast to coast

The choice facing Canadians may be between much more of Mr Harper, or the arrival of coalition politics from across the Atlantic.

ECONOMIST: Canada's general election